Early Departure Ducks Legacy: Who’s The First Duck To Leave Early for NFL?

Early Departure Ducks Legacy: Who’s The First Duck To Leave Early for NFL?

Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on January 8th, 2014

Oregon CB Terrance Mitchell has decided to enter the NFL draft.

 

    ‘Tis the season, that time in the postseason before the January 15th deadline when college athletes can decide if they want to leave school before their eligibility is up and declare for the NFL draft.

     As Oregon has steadily improved, so too have the early departures, an inevitability in today’s big money football for some to choose to jump the ship early. For a few it makes total sense, having proven everything they possibly could at the college level and being 100% NFL ready, like Kenny Wheaton or Haloti Ngata.

     For others it has raised an eyebrow, appearing as a move to leave before losing their job their senior year to a younger player, like Javes Lewis and Darron Thomas. Considering the rough and tumble game of football and injuries that can and will occur, it’s understandably a matter of making a living while the body still holds up for some.

     Regardless of the motivation, this is the time of year when fans worry, checking message boards constantly for the latest rumor on this player or that, who said what, which twitter or instagram post might maybe hint at their decision (and about DAT’s now infamous instagram post of a Campus Attic image–let us reiterate once more that he just liked our drawing of him, it wasn’t an announcement of ANYTHING, as was proven by his departure).

     While fans held their breath about news of Ifo Ekpre-Olomu as the next potential player from the UO to also declare for the draft following Terrance Mitchell and De’Anthony Thomas both deciding to leave this year, there is also great comfort in knowing that at least Marcus Mariota and Hroniss Grasu are returning for the 2014 season. And now with official word from Ifo Ekpre-Olomu that he is returning for his senior year, barring a last-minute change of heart, fans can breathe easy this week.

    Kenny Wheaton, Onterrio Smith, George Wrighster, Igor Olshansky, Haloti Ngata, Jonathan Stewart, Jairus Byrd, Javes Lewis, Darron Thomas, LaMichael James, and now Terrance Mitchell and De’Anthony Thomas after their recent decisions to test the NFL waters–what was once the rarest of occurrences is now an almost annual event, somebody leaving Oregon early for a shot at the pros.

Kenny Wheaton left Oregon after the 1996 season,
taken in the 3rd round by the Dallas Cowboys.

    Kenny Wheaton in 1996 was the first Oregon player in recent history to make the leap to the NFL, foregoing his senior season after being a two-time 1st team all-Pac-10 selection and All-American, most famous for his 1994 interception vs. Washington. Wheaton had led Oregon in tackles in 1996, the only in team history to do so from the cornerback position, becoming one of the most feared and respected cover men in Pac-10 history.

     A third round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, his career was derailed by a severe knee injury in 1999 that ended his NFL career, but he continued playing for a decade thereafter in the CFL before retiring. Regardless of how his pro career went, Wheaton remains a legend in Eugene.

    But contrary to popular belief, Kenny Wheaton was not actually the first Oregon Duck to leave school early for the NFL. That came nearly half a century earlier, when Norm Van Brocklin forgo his senior year for the NFL draft in 1949. He would go on to become the first University of Oregon player inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

     Van Brocklin established a legacy of providing great NFL talents to the pro leagues…whether or not they had actually finished school. Let’s take a look back at where the trend began, Norm Van Brocklin — the player who established Oregon’s early departure legacy.

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN IS THE FIRST TO GO

     Nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman,” Norm Van Brocklin grew up in Walnut Creek, CA by way of South Dakota, serving in the US Navy during WWII. Joining the University of Oregon football team after being discharged from the military, Oregon coach Tex Oliver didn’t think much of the young halfback/punter, barely using him in 1946.

Norm van Brocklin was the first Oregon Duck to leave school
early for the NFL draft. ©University-of-Oregon-Libraries-
Special-Collections-and-University-Archives

 

    “He’s only a fair runner, and can’t block,” was Oliver’s assessment. Van Brocklin had been known more for baseball in high school than football, and wasn’t recruited heavily, but perhaps Oliver should have taken a closer look at the talent. He wouldn’t get a chance to, however, resigning after a 4-4-1 season in 1946.

    In 1947 a new head coach took over, Jim Aiken, and with the fresh face came a new opportunity for Norm Van Brocklin after being moved to quarterback. Oregon had an All-American candidate in halfback Jake Leicht, who had been an All-American prior to joining the war effort, but amidst a switch in offensive philosophy to the T-formation in 1947 under Aiken, Van Brocklin outshined Leicht as the young team leader.

    In the first game of the year, Van Brocklin connected for a touchdown pass to Dan Garza on just the fifth play of the game, a great start to a season in which he would throw for nearly 1,000 yards and nine TDs, huge numbers in an era when throwing the ball was rare. Leicht meanwhile led the Pacific Coast Conference in rushing yards and scoring during his senior campaign, returning to his All-American form.

    Oregon would finish that season 7-3, ending the year on a six game winning streak once Van Brocklin and Leicht found their stride–a marked improvement from the 4-4-1 record under Tex Oliver while Van Brocklin sat on the bench for most of the year, out of position.

Jake Leicht was an All-American at Oregon before and after WWII.
©University-of-Oregon-Libraries-Special-Collections-and-University-Archives

    If the 1947 season made Van Brocklin big man on campus, the 1948 season would make him a national superstar. With John McKay replacing Leicht in the backfield (McKay later becoming a hall of fame coach at USC and the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Oregon lost only one game in the regular season, finishing 9-1, dropping a tough battle to national champion Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, 14-0.

     Thanks to Van Brocklin efforts, Oregon would make its first ever appearance in the AP Poll, climbing as high as 9th by season’s end.

    Van Brocklin led the PCC in passing in both 1947 and 1948, and also led the league in punting, becoming the first Oregon player to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season (1,010 yards in 1948), but the Ducks would be denied a chance at roses. In one of the most atrocious underhanded blows from Washington adding to the already bitter rivalry, despite Oregon being a perfect 7-0 in conference the Huskies lobbied other schools hard to pick Cal over Oregon to represent the conference in the prestigious Rose Bowl.

     The Washington politicking worked, the vote going 7-3 in favor of Cal (Oregon and Cal didn’t play each other in 1948, so there was no on-field tie-breaker to settle it). When Van Brocklin learned of the news of being denied a trip to the Rose Bowl, he openly wept at the team banquet.

Action from the 1949 Cotton Bowl – Oregon vs. SMU. ©University-of-Oregon-Libraries-Special-Collections-and-University-Archives

    Denied a shot at the Rose Bowl by those bad dawgs to the north, the season instead earned Oregon a trip to the Cotton Bowl on January 1st, 1949, to play SMU–led by the legendary Doak Walker. In the game Van Brocklin was spectacular as usual, bringing Oregon back from a 14-0 deficit, but eventually lost to the Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker and SMU Mustangs, 21-13.

    Norm Van Brocklin earned All-American honors in 1948, and many coaches and writers alike agreed that Van Brocklin was clearly the best quarterback in the country. Having earned his degree in only three years, Norm Van Brocklin did the unthinkable–he left Oregon with a year of eligibility remaining to enter the NFL draft.

VAN BROCKLIN IN THE NFL

    Norm Van Brocklin was selected in the 4th round of the 1949 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams (37th overall), as a quarterback/punter. He would play in eight games his rookie year, starting none but throwing 58 passes and kicking two punts, but by the 1950 season it was Norm’s team, leading the Rams to a playoff victory. The next year, he would lead the Rams to the NFL championship.

Norm Van Brocklin led the Los Angeles Rams to a NFL Championship in 1951.

    Over the course of a 12-year NFL career with the Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, Van Brocklin was one of the biggest stars of the NFL. Nine times selected to the Pro Bowl, the 1960 NFL MVP, he led both the Rams and Eagles to National Football League Championships. His greatest game came September 28th, 1951, when Norm Van Brocklin threw for an astounding 554 yards vs. the New York Yanks, a record that still stands after 62 years.

     Three times he led the NFL in passing, and twice in punting, also giving the Green Bay Packers the only playoff loss ever suffered during Vince Lombardi’s tenure.

   Rather than continue his playing career after his NFL MVP season in 1960, Van Brocklin again made an interesting career move, becoming the first head coach of the new expansion NFL franchise Minnesota Vikings. He coached the Vikings for six years (1961-66), followed by a seven year stint with the Atlanta Falcons (1968-74).

A CHANCE TO RETURN HOME

    A 1966 College Football Hall of Fame inductee and 1971 NFL Hall of Fame inductee, Norm Van Brocklin wanted to come home to Eugene to end his career, lobbying to take over the University of Oregon head football coach position in 1977 after the university had fired coach Don Read following a 4-7 season.

   Van Brocklin wanted to finish his career back at Oregon, but that final year of eligibility from 28 years prior wouldn’t be put to use, the university choosing instead to hire Rich Brooks as the new head football coach, an Oregon State graduate. Van Brocklin coached one year at Georgia Tech as the running backs coach in 1979, and died due to complications of a stroke in 1983 in Georgia. He was posthumously inducted into the inaugural University of Oregon Hall of Fame class in 1992.

Ad in 1977 promoting Rich Brooks’ hire as new head coach, picked over Norm Van Brocklin as Don Read’s successor.

    Today Norm Van Brocklin’s mark is permanently placed on the University of Oregon, for those adventurous and savvy enough to go exploring to seek it out. Along the path of old campus in the area once known as “Hello Walk,” in front of one of the entrances of Deady Hall, is an old bench by a tree. Like many of the benches on campus, it at initial glance has little distinction, other than a quiet place to rest in a part of campus rarely visited by students, but at its foot is a plaque marking the place where Norm Van Brocklin first met his wife.

The plaque next to the Van Brocklin bench outside Deady Hall.

The plaque reads:

It is here we met
and here we will always be
Gloria Schiewe – ‘46
Norman Van Brocklin – ‘49
——————-
Placed in loving memory
by their children

    Despite missing out on his senior year, Van Brocklin remains arguably Oregon’s greatest player in history, alongside some of the other legends who have chosen to leave early–Kenny Wheaton, Haloti Ngata, LaMichael James. Of the six NFL Hall of Famers though with UO ties, only Van Brocklin left early for the NFL, while Emil “Tuffy” Leemans transferred to George Washington after playing the 1932 season at Oregon. John Madden, another NFL hall of famer, played on the Oregon freshmen football team before transferring.

EARLY DEPARTURES TODAY

    Of the other Ducks who have answered the beckoning call, only Haloti Ngata seems a possibility so far for the NFL Hall of Fame, though LaMichael James seems likely to join Van Brocklin and other Ducks in the College Football Hall of Fame someday.

    The NFL is a very different game than in Van Brocklin’s era, but the lures of pro ball are understandable with millions of dollars at stake. This year Terrance Mitchell joins the fray as early departed Ducks, a corner with solid numbers who certainly could have used another year in college to polish his game, but has the skills to be given a shot at the next level. De’Anthony Thomas is also NFL bound, the multi-talented but enigmatic superstar RB/WR hybrid tweener, who seems likely to get his first shot in the pros as a returner.

    With a week to go to the deadline, it is unlikely that more may join Mitchell and Thomas, with nervous eyes now relaxed after second team All-American Ifo Ekpre-Olomu’s decision to return. More will follow suit in the coming years though, a chance at a paycheck taking precedent over collegiate glory. It is interesting to note though after speaking directly with several former Oregon players who spent time in the NFL how much they opine for one more chance to run out of the tunnel at Autzen Stadium, stating they would happily trade their NFL experience for one more chance to play in a big game in college against Washington or Oregon State.

    During the pep rally before the 2011 BCS National Championship – Oregon vs. Auburn, Joey Harrington declared in front of thousands of Oregon fans that he would trade his entire NFL experience for one more chance to play a game at Autzen Stadium. Hyperbole perhaps, but nonetheless the sentiment has been often stated by many Ducks who played at the highest level.

     There’s just something special about game days at Autzen Stadium, something Van Brocklin couldn’t speak of as a coach after being denied the job in 1977, but others who have chosen to leave early can speak to the difference between college life and professional. The pro game will be waiting, it will always be there for those with the skill to play, but the time in college they will never get back, especially the times they could have had but chose to miss.

    Best of luck to Terrance Mitchell and De’Anthony Thomas, and any other Oregon Ducks who choose to forgo college glory for professional paychecks. The league will wait, but if they can’t, like Van Brocklin or Wheaton their exploits in Eugene will still be fondly remembered.

The Oregon Coaching Family: Oregon’s True Legacy Is In Its Family of Coaches, Not Uniforms

The Oregon Coaching Family: Oregon’s True Legacy Is In Its Family of Coaches, Not Uniforms

Originally posted on CampusAttic.com on January 2nd, 2014

    It’s easy to recite the perception of Oregon’s legacy on athletics — flashy uniforms, modern facilities, speedy style of play, Nike connections…but is this really the biggest impact on sports that the University of Oregon has had? It seems strange to think, but sleepy little Eugene has been a crossroads of coaching knowledge for a century, a must-stop on the path to success either as a player or coach; call Oregon the Harvard of X’s and O’s.

    At the heart of Oregon’s coaching tree is a pledge of continuity, a place where a coach if they want to can come and remain for many years. The life of a coach can pay well, but also be very nomadic, moving repeatedly wherever the work beckons. Oregon is the contradiction to this, a place where stability in the staff is highly sought after, in a community with a relatively low cost of living and great place to raise a family, with a football program that is beloved and supported, making for a winning and desirable combination for any coach. Above all, the coaches at Oregon exemplify teaching skills the right way, with integrity, as a family, helping to mold young men and women into positive members of society.

Mark Helfrich just completed his first year as head coach at Oregon,
but has been groomed of ryears for the job. (courtesy: USAToday)

    Mark Helfrich is the 35th University of Oregon head football coach, having just completed his first year at the helm after serving four years as offensive coordinator, but half of those 35 that have held the highest job were prior to 1913.

     In college football today, where it is rare for a coaching staff to stay fully intact from one year to the next, that stability is a reflection of doing things the Oregon way, trusting in the coaching knowledge, and considering long-term plans to achieve. When fans overreact and call for blood if something doesn’t go perfect, the administration shows loyalty, a rare trait in modern college athletics, and the results speak for themselves. Len Casanova was once hung in effigy on the UO campus by angry students in the 1950s, but the university didn’t cave to the demands…he stayed at Oregon for decades thereafter, and led Oregon to a Rose Bowl in 1958.

    There is perhaps no healthier athletic program in the country at a public university than Oregon, fiscally solvent, highly successful in competition in every sport, and a stable of top-level talented coaches with the rarest of promises — job stability. As a result, Oregon sports across the board are competing among the highest levels in the country.

     Acrobatics & tumbling are three-time national champions, men’s and women’s track & field are perennial title contenders, baseball and softball are likely to reach the college world series, men’s and women’s basketball teams both lead the nation in scoring per game, football every year is in the national title discussion, and Oregon club sports even won a national championship in ultimate frisbee.

     Sports are alive and well at Oregon, because of a dedicated effort on the part of the university to find and maintain the best coaches, while also molding the brightest sports minds in-house.

Hugo Bezdek left Oregon in 1918 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
after Shy Huntington was set to take over the program.

    It began in 1913, when Hugo Bezdek was welcomed back to Eugene after one year in 1906 as the football, basketball, and baseball coach. Bezdek remained in Eugene through the 1918 season, establishing Oregon as one of the premier teams on the west coast, culminating in victory in the East-West Tournament game, later known as the Rose Bowl, in 1917. When Bezdek left for a job as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, to maintain coaching staff continuity and continue the good times Oregon hired Charles “Shy” Huntington as new head coach, Oregon’s quarterback during Bezdek’s coaching tenure. The good times did continue, Oregon returning to the East-West Tournament game in 1920…until the university’s attempts to bring Bezdek back resulted in Huntington resigning in 1924, ending an era and sending Oregon into a rather dark time for UO athletics.

    For decades Oregon went through numerous coaching changes, until Len Casanova was hired from Santa Clara before the 1951 season. Following the Bezdek/Huntington continuity mold, Casanova established a coaching tree that has become one of the greatest in football history. Whether during the 16 years Casanova remained Oregon’s head coach, or the many decades that followed with “Cas” as athletic director and senior administrator at Oregon. When Casanova left his post as head coach, he appointed his successor to be Jerry Frei, the offensive coordinator, maintaining much of the same coaching staff.

    In the 1970s the university strayed, firing Casanova’s successor Jerry Frei and starting over with two underwhelming short tenures under coach Dick Enright (1973-1974) and Don Read (1975-1976). Replacing Read in 1977, an Oregon State alumnus was hired, Rich Brooks. Ever since, the Casanova long-tenure mold has been followed, the university becoming the prime example of maintaining coaching continuity and stability, the envy of the college football world.

    It is the patience shown by the university and long-term forward thinking that allowed the University of Oregon football program to prosper and grow into the perennial national contender it is today, something that would not have been possible had the quick trigger in changing coaches in the post Huntington 1920s or post-Frei 1970s had continued.

     Just as Casanova had supported his guys through good times and bad trusting in coaches to develop their plans without a “win now or else” mentality, so too did Rich Brooks show immense loyalty to coaches, making Oregon a welcomed place for coaches to come to ply their trade and learn. This has continued today, as Rich Brooks’ successor was his offensive coordinator Mike Bellotti, who after a 13-year tenure turned over the job to his offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who turned it over to his offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, and so the cycle of success continues.

Legendary track coach Bill Bowerman is one of many Oregon alumni who returned
to their alma mater to coach. (courtesy: UO Knight LIbrary and Special Collections)

    The Oregon way of long-term coaching support expanded beyond just football. Bill Hayward (1903-1947) spent over 40 years at the UO training athletes as track & field coach and football trainer, his successor being a former UO football player, Bill Bowerman. Bowerman revolutionized the sport of track & field in numerous ways, brought Eugene its first T&F national championship in 1962, and co-founded Nike with one of his former runners–Phil Knight.

     Bowerman’s successor was Bill Dellinger, one of Bowerman’s greatest athletes. On the women’s side, Tom Heinonen coached track & field for 28 years (1975-2002), bringing numerous titles to Eugene further establishing the “Track Town USA” reputation.

   Other sports have benefited from Oregon’s long-term loyalty. Howard Hobson (1935-1947) brought a basketball national championship to the UO in 1939. Dick Harter’s “Kamikaze Kids” were the second best team on the west coast in the 1970s during his stretch as coach (1971-1978), and it was one of Harter’s former players in Ernie Kent that returned Oregon to prominence twice reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament during his time as coach (1997-2010).

Don Kirsch surrounded by some of his players after Oregon clinched a spot
in the college world series in 1954.
(courtesy: UO Knight Library and Special Collections)

 

     In baseball, Howard Hobson had coached on the diamond as well as on the basketball court for years, so when he left it was one of his former players in Don Kirsch who took over and led Oregon from 1948-1970, taking the Ducks to their only college world series appearance in 1954, before handing the team over to one of his former players, Mel Krause, who lead the program until it was cut due to budget cuts in 1981.

     Becky Sisley coached multiple sports at Oregon, and became its first women’s athletics director, during her extensive time at the university (1965-1979). Jim Radcliffe, the best strength & conditioning coach hands down in the entire country, has been working with every sport at the University of Oregon since he came to Eugene in 1985, following in the tenured trainer tradition of Bill Hayward (1903-1947) and Bob Officer (1935-1967).

    Recognizing a theme here? The University of Oregon knows a good thing when it has one, and looks to maintain the success through long-term support of its coaches and support staff. When a coach isn’t worried if they have to move after every off-season, they can look big picture at ways to maintain and improve on success, and establish an identity for the sport. The result, Oregon has its own #NationalBrand, not just in appearance, but style of play. Find the brightest minds in a sport, then hold onto them. It seems a simple concept, but easier said than done.

John Robinson may be a hall of fame coach for his time
at USC, but he started as a player and coach at Oregon.
(courtesy: UO Knight Library and Special Collections)

    14 college/NFL hall of famers have roamed the Oregon sidelines, and the pantheon of individuals who have at one time donned an Oregon jersey or taught the X’s and O’s is as impressive as any school or pro franchise. The list of coaches with Oregon roots that spent time in the NFL include Norm Van Brocklin, George Seifert, Mike Nolan, Bill Musgrave, John Madden, John McKay, John Robinson, Hugo Bezdek, Gunther Cunningham, Rich Brooks, Charlie Waters, John Ramsdell, Bruce Snyder, and Chip Kelly among others.

     Homegrown coaches at Oregon who went on to great success in the coaching ranks include Chris Peterson, Dirk Koetter, Jeff Tedford, Bob Toledo, and Al Borges among others. Norv Turner and Justin Wilcox played at Oregon before going on to become successful coaches elsewhere.

    Part of the Oregon legacy in coaching is the result of University of Oregon student-athletes choosing to cut their coaching chops at their alma mater. John Robinson and John McKay may have become legends at USC, but it was at Oregon where they played and first coached under Len Casanova’s tutelage. Denny Schuler, Brad Ecklund, and Joe Schaffeld also played at Oregon, then returned as coaches involved in college football for decades. Prink Callison, Norm Chapman, Bev Smith, Bill Bowerman, Bill Dellinger, Don Kirsch, Mel Krause, Sally Harmon, Don Pellum, Joe Reitzug, Nate Costa, Steve Greatwood and others have stayed as Duck coaches after their competition days were done. Norm Van Brocklin famously wanted to return to revitalize the program in the 1970s after his NFL coaching career ended, but Rich Brooks was chosen for the head football coach position instead.

    In fact, the Oregon coaching factory has been so successful in developing sports minds, that it prompted the football program to completely change its philosophy. By the early 2000s, the Pac-10 was swamped with former Oregon coaches at other schools implementing “the Oregon way” into other schools.

    By 2003 in some games Oregon played, both teams were using the same playbook and hand signals, everyone knew the Oregon system so well that a change was needed. In one game, Oregon quarterbacks Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife actually had to sprint to the sideline after every play to hear the play call knowing that the team couldn’t use any hand signals without the opponents knowing what Oregon was about to run next.

Becky Sisley personified Oregon’s coaching family legacy and versatility
coaching basketball, field hockey, softball, and becoming the first
UO women’s athletic director.
(courtesy: UO Knight Library and Special Collections)

 

    Hence it was that in 2005 head coach Mike Bellotti decided it was time to switch from a pro style offense to a spread system, in part to evolve with the changes in football but also a means to avoid other schools from mimicking Oregon to the tiniest of detail. With Jeff Tedford at Cal (Oregon offensive coordinator 1998-2001), Dirk Koetter at ASU (Oregon offensive coordinator 1996-1997), Tom Osborne at ASU (Oregon special teams coach 1995-2000), and other assistants with Oregon roots scattered throughout the west, there was too much familiarity in Oregon to keep any opponents surprised.

    Since the 1980s, the Oregon football staff has remained relatively unchanged, at least compared to other programs. The longevity of running backs coach Gary Campbell (1983-present), offensive line/tight end coach Steve Greatwood (1980-1994, 2000-present), linebackers coach Don Pellum (1985-1986, 1993-present), and strength & conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe (1985-present) are true rarities in the quick trigger win-now-or-else high stakes world of college football. Mike Bellotti came to Oregon in 1989 as Rich Brooks’ new offensive coordinator, and stayed in multiple roles until 2009. The staff today has its roots tracing back to Rich Brooks’ hire in 1977, during which time facilities development have completely altered Oregon football.

    It was during Rich Brooks’ time as coach (1977-1994) when he and then athletic director Bill Byrne implemented plans to upgrade the facilities at Oregon to make the program competitive, something that would not have been possible if not for a dedication to Brooks’ big picture vision for the program. Fundraising by Byrne in the early 80s led to the construction of the Autzen Stadium Sky Suites in 1986, which then funded much of the Casanova Center construction in 1989-90. From there the athletic department is almost completely unrecognizable from what it was in the 1980s, every sport’s facility either being replaced or getting massive upgrades to coincide with the multiple image and marketing campaigns. With the shiny new facilities has come success in athletics and national attention for the university, providing student-athletes with the tools they need to achieve at their absolute best.

    Consider for a moment the Chip Kelly head coaching tenure (2009-2012). During those four years Oregon was the only program in the entire country that did not have a single change in its coaching staff. During that same four year stretch, Oregon was the only program in the country to play in a BCS game every year…coincidence?

    When Kelly left following the 2012 season, he did so only after assurances that his offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich would take over, and pledged not to completely gut the entire Oregon coaching staff in his departure, maintaining the core structure per tradition established under Bezdek and Casanova and Brooks. Helfrich has been groomed for the job, a native Oregonian who was recruited by the Ducks, played high school games at Autzen, knows the history and tradition of the program, and like so many others got his coaching start at the University of Oregon as an assistant.

    But as much stability as there can be amidst staff, when humans are involved eventually change must occur. The first cog fell last week, when Nick Aliotti retired, leaving a current vacancy in Oregon’s defensive coordinator position.

Sometimes goat, sometimes great, Nick Aliotti’s always honest and gruff approach
will be sorely missed. (courtesy: OregonLive.com)

    Nick Aliotti was a running back at UC-Davis in the 1970s when Mike Bellotti was an assistant coach at his UCD alma mater. Aliotti coached for a year alongside Bellotti at UCD in 1976, before joining the Oregon coaching staff in 1978 under Rich Brooks.

     In 1980 he joined Oregon State for four years as the running backs coach, but in 1988 he returned to Oregon, a year before Mike Bellotti would join the Ducks, playing an integral role in getting Bellotti to come to Eugene. There were stints for Aliotti in the NFL alongside Rich Brooks, who also took Steve Greatwood with him to the St. Louis Rams in 1995 when Mike Bellotti took over as head coach, but after a year at UCLA Nick Aliotti returned to where he was most comfortable in 1999 — the University of Oregon.

    For years Aliotti has been the stabilizing force behind Oregon’s defenses. Sometimes a scapegoat, sometimes a hero, always brutally honest, his character and personality helped to define the family atmosphere of the coaching staff that has drawn so many student-athletes to Eugene. His loss is huge, and it will be interesting to see if Oregon chooses to continue the continuity that has led to so much success in the past, by hiring from within, or do they go outside and bring in a fresh face?

    Behind Greatwood, Campbell, Pellum, and Radcliffe are the second generation of Oregon coaches. Tom Osborne has coached tight ends and special teams in two stints at Oregon (1995-2000, 2007-present), and secondary coach John Neal (2003-present). If there is to be an internal successor to Nick Aliotti at defensive coordinator, it is likely John Neal, the good money being on the announced “national search” for a new defensive coordinator actually being a hunt for a replacement secondary coach after Neal is promoted.

There is nobody more respected or appreciated in the UO
athletic program than strength & conditioning coach Jim Radcliffe.
(courtesy: OregonLive.com)

 

    There will come a point where sadly Steve Greatwood, Gary Campbell, Don Pellum, and (gasp) Jim Radcliffe will have to retire too, the final remnants of the Casanova/Brooks lineage.

    Yet the coaching tree will live on under Helfrich’s eye whenever the stalwarts of Oregon choose to call it quits on their terms, just as Aliotti did. The next wave of coaches that clamor to call Eugene home will come, knowing it is a place where if they so choose they can set up a home for many years to come.

    Oregon is special. It’s not because of the uniforms, or facilities, or fans, or community, but a combination of all of the above; but at its very core it is the people teaching the X’s and O’s who keep the Oregon coaching factory running at full steam. It is both a factory and a family, the humans who operate the machines that are the true value, not the structures popping up each year that define Oregon.

     As long as that policy is maintained, as long as the administration and fans show trust and loyalty in the long-term plans of coaches to compete, then Oregon will continue to be successful at the highest levels of amateur athletics.

Len Casanova (left) and Jerry Frei (center) were two of the major cogs in the lineage of coaching success at Oregon that has continued through to today. (courtesy: UO Knight Library and Special Collections)

Should Nike-U be X’s & O’s University? Oregon Among Elite In Developing Coaches

Should Nike-U be X’s & O’s University? Oregon Among Elite In Developing Coaches 
 
Originally posted on FishDuck.com on January 30th, 2012 

From the first football game played at Oregon in 1894 (a 46-0 victory over Albany College) to the Ducks’ 45-38 victory in the Rose Bowl a few weeks ago, Oregon has been extraordinarily fortunate to maintain coaching stability for the vast majority of its history.  The University of Oregon has long been a place of tremendous individual talents, even when the team performances were not noteworthy.
From the College/NFL Hall of Famers that once graced the Oregon sidelines (14 in total) to the long lineage of recognizable coaches that at one time did the same, Oregon always has and continues to be a place of both tremendous long-term loyalty while developing some of the greatest football minds.


34 different head coaches have led the men of Oregon in its 117-year football history, but half of those 34 did so prior to 1913.  After 1913, that averages out to a change in head coaches every 5.8 years.  That may not seem like much at first glance, but in a sport where turnover is commonplace as coaches are on the move each year looking for bigger and better jobs, that kind of stability can make the difference in the success of a program.  Consider that only two programs in the last three years have maintained the same coaching staff top to bottom, Oregon and Army.  Oregon perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, is also the only team in the country to have played in a BCS game the last three years in a row.

Stability breeds success, and in the last 34 years Oregon has had only three different head coaches, a stretch that has seen the team go from one of the worst programs in the country to a perennial elite powerhouse thanks largely to the coaching staff.

The longest tenured head coaches at Oregon were Len Casanova for 16 seasons (1951-66), Rich Brooks for 18 years (1977-94), and Mike Bellotti for 14 (1995-2008) before stepping aside for current coach Chip Kelly, now entering his fourth season at the helm.  Of Oregon’s coaches, two have been recognized as the national collegiate head coach of the year; Rich Brooks in his final season at Oregon (1994) before taking the St. Louis Rams job in the NFL in 1995, and Chip Kelly in his first two seasons.

Hugo Bezdek (1906, 1913-1917) was at the time considered by many the best coach in the country 

However before an individual award existed honoring coaches, Hugo Bezdek (1906, 1913-1917) was considered by many to be the greatest coach in the country.  While such an honor for Bezdek is left up for debate, what is without question was Bezdek’s unique versatility in the coaching ranks.  He remains the only person in history to take three different teams to the Rose Bowl (then known as the East-West Tournament Game), and also the only individual ever to coach both a major league baseball team and NFL franchise.

Legends of the coaching world like John Madden, John McKay, and John Robinson have all at one time called Eugene home. Chris Peterson, Dirk Koetter, Jeff Tedford, Mike Nolan, Norv Turner, Justin Wilcox, Gunther Cunningham, Bill Musgrave, Al Borges, Tom Donohue and many others have also emerged from the Oregon program to blossom elsewhere in the collegiate and pro ranks.  Countless former players have entered the coaching ranks at all levels applying the skills gained in Eugene to their teams, passing along the knowledge of doing things “the Oregon way” to the next generation of football players.

While the on-field results may have shown mixed results over the years, Oregon’s prowess as a coaching factory is among the very best in the nation. In fact, when Oregon made the radical switch to the spread offense before the 2005 season after years operating a highly-successful pro set offensive scheme, Head Coach Mike Bellotti cited that the switch was necessary because so many former Oregon coaches and players had been sought elsewhere for their football I.Q. that half the conference knew Oregon’s entire playbook.

Oregon has at times at fault shown too much loyalty to a coach, running several out of town who had been successful but were undesirable because they did not match the lofty expectations and iconic presence of their predecessors.  Charles “Shy” Huntington, despite a terrific six-year run in Eugene from 1918-1923 resigned after the university made attempts to lure Bezdek back to Eugene to coach again, going so far as to making Huntington give a speech in public honoring Bezdek when he returned to Eugene in 1923 to accept an award, being forced to call Bezdek “the greatest coach in the country” before a large crowd welcoming Bezdek as the conquering hero. 

The award and ceremony was a lure of hoping to get Bezdek to come back to Eugene permanently to replace Huntington, but Bezdek refused the repeated attempts to return choosing instead to stay with Penn State. Huntington resigned shortly thereafter, stating that “while my players are behind me, it has become clear that the university and community are not.” Huntington’s departure from the program ended the glory days for the Webfoots, sending the program into a spiral that did not see a return to respectability until the 1950s under Len Casanova.

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Many thought Jerry Frei was unfairly fired after five seasons leading Oregon (1967-1971) 

So too was Jerry Frei’s departure unfortunate and premature, the victim of having to replace the legendary Len Casanova in a five year tenure from 1967-1971 that left many players bitter that their coach was unceremoniously given the hook just as they were turning things around (1972 was the senior year for Dan Fouts and Ahmad Rashad).

The 1972 and 1973 years would prove a disappointment in the switch to a different offensive scheme, and Dick Enright was quickly replaced, setting in motion some of the darkest years in program history until the slow climb from mediocrity began in the mid-80s under Rich Brooks.  In the cases of Huntington and Frei it was not their coaching expertise or lack of on-field success that led to their dismissal, but the discontent of others that they were not Bezdek or Casanova.

In addition, on four separate occasions the University of Oregon has called on previous head coaches to return for an encore, with mixed results.  In 1901 and 1903 Warren W. Smith led Oregon to an 11-8-2 overall record in his two seasons. Hugo Bezdek’s first coaching experience was in 1906 at Oregon before departing for the University of Arkansas for six seasons (where he coined the nickname “Razorbacks”) before returning to Eugene from 1913-1917, a five-year stretch that saw Oregon rise to national powerhouse status. Richard Shore Smith was the coach at Oregon in 1904, and returned for one season in 1925 resulting in a dismal 1-5-1 record, a temporary fix after Shy Huntington’s initial replacement Joe Maddock in 1924 could only muster a 4-3-2 record. Tex Oliver also served double duty, first from 1938-1941, and again after the war from 1945-1946.

Rich Brooks spent 18 years in Eugene as head coach (1977-1994) 

However, other times coaches have stuck around long after the community felt it was time for a change, the university showing immense loyalty and vision to see the possibilities of long-term results if patience was shown during down years.  Rich Brooks spent more time at Oregon as a head coach than anyone, tallying 18 years in all, 17 of which had many in the community calling for his head, some perhaps not willing to accept an Oregon State grad as their new coach.

In the record books Coach Brooks finished with a losing record (91-109-4), but he took over a program in the late 70s that was as low as it could be stuck in a quagmire of embarrassing losses and facing NCAA sanctions.  Yet over time Brooks was able to mold the Ducks from laughing stock to bowl-eligible program while simultaneously key funding was collected to build the facilities that enabled the program to improve recruiting, the lifeblood of any program.  Following the remarkable 1994 season where Oregon, picked in the preseason to finish 9th or 10th in the conference, won the Pac-10 title and appeared in the Rose Bowl, Brooks was named the national coach of the year and was able to leave on his own terms, taking an opportunity to coach in the NFL. For his long-term efforts in Eugene, the field at Autzen Stadium is named after him.
 
With coaching genius so too comes innovation, the ability to see the game differently, and the University of Oregon has from its inception been a hotbed for out-of-the-box thinking.  In 1899 the Webfoots created a new blocking technique, the arm-to-back formation, that completely changed blocking schemes, resulting in outscoring opponents 102-17 that season in six games.

Upon his return in 1913, Hugo Bezdek’s training techniques and coaching style revolutionized the game, being the first coach to create a training table, focus on nutrition and made Oregon one of the first programs to openly embrace the forward pass, a novelty at the time.

In 1928 Oregon featured two black quarterbacks, Robert Robinson and Charles Williams, in an era where few if any African-Americans were given the right to play collegiate or professional sports much less a prominent position such as quarterback. Coach John McElwan referred to Williams as “the toughest man I ever met.”  Years later Oregon graduate Woodley Lewis would be one of the earliest black players to be drafted into the NFL.

After World War II Tex Oliver became one of the first coaches in the country to utilize pre-snap motion, which became known as “Oliver’s Twist.” Oliver’s teams implemented a wide open passing scheme that could be considered a pre-cursor to the modern spread offense.

Dick Enright in 1972 was unafraid to change Oregon to an option team, despite featuring senior QB Dan Fouts, future NFL Hall of Famer still among the all-time leaders in career passing yards.

In 1996 Oregon’s new defensive coordinator Rich Stubler brought with him from the CFL a bizarre defensive “edge” scheme that had the defensive line being over a yard off the ball at the snap.  It proved a failure and was scrapped halfway through the season, but the willingness to attempt such a radical change from traditional football seemed perfectly acceptable at the University of Oregon where innovation was deemed routine, while at other schools considered traditional powers such a move would have been blasphemous.
 
Today Oregon features a coach that many unabashedly consider the most innovative football mind in the country, Chip Kelly.  From the tempo to the practice techniques to the scheme to the implementation of various experimental technologies happily supplied by Nike, there is no other program in the country operating quite like the University of Oregon, a philosophy that starts from the coaching staff.

It is difficult to imagine storied programs such as Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, or Alabama ever accepting the brash changes that are so readily implemented at Oregon from year to year.  Others can see the writing on the wall that perhaps their traditional ways have passed them by though, sometimes at their own peril.

Consider for a moment the 2007 season as an example, Chip Kelly’s first year at Oregon as offensive coordinator. The Michigan Wolverines (thought to be a preseason national title contender) were beaten in the first two weeks of the season in embarrassing fashion by Appalachian State and Oregon on their own turf, two teams implementing wild new spread systems.

“The winningest program in history” fired Head Coach Lloyd Carr at season’s end and scrapped their traditional power-I set offensive schemes in favor of hiring Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia. Rodriguez was thought to be a coach who could mimic the offensive innovation displayed in the Big House by App St. and Oregon.  The Rodriguez era was short-lived at Michigan, a program too set in its traditional ways could never fully accept nor properly implement the 21st century football being played by a program like Oregon.  Shown the door after three seasons in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez was recently hired as the new head coach at Arizona.
 
Yet while those programs embrace their proud winning traditions, Oregon embraces its proud history of innovation, possessing and developing some of the brightest football minds of their eras unafraid to think and act differently.  That is Oregon’s tradition, the influence of UO players and coaches spread across the country after departing the program now teaching the next generation the innovative techniques that have made the Ducks successful on the field, nurturing football’s future.

Just as head coaches Brooks and Bellotti nestled into Eugene for long hauls, so too have assistant coaches.  Current assistants Gary Campbell, Don Pellum, Steve Greatwood, and Jim Radcliffe have experience in the Oregon program stretching back decades. For Pellum and Greatwood, both played for Oregon before becoming coaches, and both recently were honored as top assistant coaches in the country in their respective areas of expertise.  Another perfect example of this homegrown coaching talent nurtured at the University of Oregon is Joe Schaffeld, a player under Len Casanova during the 1957 season that culminated in a trip to the Rose Bowl, who then became an assistant coach with the Ducks from 1974-1997, helping lead Oregon back to the Rose Bowl again in 1994.

Mike Bellotti led Oregon to 12 of its 25 total bowl games 

The success of the Oregon program in the past two decades can largely be attributed to this stability in the assistant coaches.  When Brooks left for the pros, he took a few coaches with him but the majority of the staff was left relatively intact when Offensive Coordinator Mike Bellotti was elevated to the head coach position in 1995.

So too when Bellotti stepped aside for Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly did he have the luxury of inheriting an almost completely intact top-notch assistant coaching staff, compiled by Bellotti during his time as captain.  To note all the phenomenal coaches that have grown up in the Oregon program to spread their wings elsewhere to great success and recognition only further showcases the immense talent that exists among the long-tenured assistants at the U of O.

It was interesting to witness the reactions recently in the wake of the rumored news of Chip Kelly’s potential departure for the NFL.  Some fans overreacted likening it to the death of the program as we knew it, that Oregon could never ascend to heights it has seen the past three years under Kelly with a different coach leading the way.  As this is pure speculation who is to say whether such a claim holds validity or not, but from a historical perspective it would not have been the first time that “the most innovative coach in the nation” would have left Oregon, nor may it be the last.

By the time Chip Kelly eventually leaves, he may be considered the best coach ever at the University of Oregon 

Oregon’s proven and sustained track record of developing coaching talent, both homegrown and from afar, has led to the program’s success, as much as any shiny new facility or new Nike toy given to the Ducks.  Talk to players, and the unanimous declaration is that while the uniforms and flash is nice, it’s still the person behind the uniform making the plays that is the difference.  Facilities help to maximize an athlete’s potential and prepare them for the battle to come, the uniforms and marketing help bring the top talent to Eugene, but in the end it is the athlete themselves being nurtured and taught by premium coaching minds that is the true beacon of success for Oregon.

Currently the Oregon Ducks have witnessed a rise to national prominence unprecedented in their history, led by the brash Chip Kelly following in the footsteps of Bezdek and others as a true innovator of their respective eras, the top football minds while benefiting from some of the best assistant coaches in the country.  Whether Kelly chooses to stay in Eugene coaching for as long as Casanova, Brooks, or Bellotti, or instead chooses to one day take his immense talents elsewhere like Bezdek, the University of Oregon athletic program will continue on developing players and coaches that will be among the elite football minds in the nation for many years to come.

There will come a day when Chip Kelly is no longer the head coach at Oregon, but just as before Kelly arrived so to will Oregon be after Kelly departs, an established coaching factory helping to mold the brightest minds in the game.  Oregon is often referred to as “Nike-U,” but from a historical perspective the long-standing tradition of developing coaching talent lends the university a far more deserving nickname, X’s & O’s University.